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Tailormade Classic Vietnam TMVI3

Guide price

Tailormade Classic Vietnam

See Vietnam from north to southTravel Vietnam from north to south, exploring all the most fascinating spots and hidden highlights besides. This all-encompassing journey shows you Vietnam in its entirety – from the colourful, frenzied streets of Hanoi where you can enjoy a cold beer at a street bar with the locals, to charming, waterside Hoi An and the buzzing lights of Saigon. This is a real journey, discovering all Vietnam has to offer.Enriching tailormade journeys – for youThis bespoke journey features some of our favourite spots in Vietnam. You can choose to take our destination experts’ recommendations and travel just as you see the itinerary here, or contact us to add your own special touches; maybe a historic, boutique residence to stay in or a cooking lesson with fresh Vietnamese foods. We’re here to design your perfect holiday. Call us on 0844 875 1897.

Tailormade Classic Vietnam - Comfort Version

1Overnight flight to Vietnam

Fly to Hanoi on an overnight flight from the UK.

Included Meals: None

2Hanoi

Arrive in Hanoi and check-in at the hotel. The remainder of the day is free to make your first impressions of the Vietnam's capital city. You may choose to take a walk around the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake. Situated in the centre of the city and translated as ‘Lake of the Restored Sword’, Hoan Kiem Lake was named after a legend in which Heaven gave the Emperor a sword used to drive the Chinese from Vietnam; after the war a turtle rose from the water and grabbed the sword taking it to the depths of the lake. If you are lucky you may even spot some turtles in the murky water.

Overnight: Sunway, Hanoi
Included Meals: None

3Hanoi sightseeing tour

Like a French provincial town with tree-lined boulevards, Hanoi is wonderfully nostalgic and a walk through the engaging streets of its Old Quarter provides an ideal introduction. Named after the various crafts and specialities of the city’s artisans, each street bears such descriptive monikers as Paper Street, Silk Street and Basket Street. This practice dates back to the 13th century, when the city’s original 36 guilds established themselves here, adopting a street each to differentiate them from their neighbours. The maze of alleys presents a fascinating venue to explore on foot and the area is known for its interesting ‘tube’ houses, whose narrow frontages give way to long rooms that stretch back. Street vendors tempt you with noodles, snacks and stir-fried delights from shoulder panniers, all adding to the charm of Hanoi’s historic heart. Explore on foot and on an exciting cyclo ride which will also take you to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and The Temple of Literature. Founded in 1070 as a Confucian temple, the Temple of Literature was also Vietnam’s first university, the Chinese style architecture and courtyards are not to be missed. In the evening watch a performance at the popular water puppet theatre.

Overnight: Sunway, Hanoi
Included Meals: Breakfast

4Halong Bay overnight junk cruise

This morning you drive out towards the magnificent Halong Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin. Thousands of jagged limestone islands rise out of the jade green waters like the hairy scales of a submerged dragon. In fact Ha Long means 'where the dragon descends to the sea' as legend tells that the rugged seascape was created by the pounding tail of a dragon as he ran from the mountains into the sea, carving islands in his wake. Enjoy the romantic scenery while cruising amongst the islands. You may have the chance to stop at a beach where you will have time to swim, relax or kayak. It is also interesting to see the curious assortment of boats, junks and wooden sampans, their sails hoisted, gliding through the waters.

Overnight: Indochina Sails
Included Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

5Overnight train to Hue

Spend the morning sailing, stopping to visit colourful grottos and swimming near deserted beaches. In the afternoon you'll transfer back to Hanoi and to the train station in time for your overnight train to Hue.

Overnight: Indochina Sails
Included Meals: Breakfast

6Perfume River cruise

You arrive in Hué, one of the great cultural and religious centres of Vietnam, a quietly impressive place and a major highlight of your holiday. The Perfume River divides the city in two and it has been the inspiration for poets and painters for many centuries. In the afternoon take a trip by boat on the Perfume River to the Thien Mu Pagoda. This lovely monastery is the oldest in Hué.

Overnight: Eldora Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast

7Explore Hue's Citadel

To appreciate Hue's fascinating history you have a tour of the Old Citadel in the morning. The citadel/palace built by the Nguyen dynasty (early 1800’s to 1945) has formal moats and impressive ramparts and was an exact copy of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Although most of the Inner City was destroyed during the Tet Offensive (1968), the vast outer walls and the West Wing remain and are an eloquent reminder of the palace’s former glory. The afternoon is free to wander at your own pace. You may choose to hire a bike or wander the back streets and lively markets.

Overnight: Eldora Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast

8Visit Cham Museum and Marble Mountains en route to Hoi An

This morning you enjoy a scenic drive across the spectacular Col des Nuages (the pass of Ocean Clouds) to Danang, once the centre of the important Kingdom of Champa (2nd century AD – 1720). You'll visit the Cham Museum to see the extraordinary Cham sculptures. Not far from Hoi An are the magnificent Marble Mountains which are dotted with Buddhist pagodas and shrines, and were a haven for the Vietcong troops and the scene of many battles. After, continue to the historic merchant town of Hoi An.

Overnight: Hoi An Historic Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast

9Free day in Hoi An

Today has been left free for you to explore at your leisure, bicycles in Vietnam are inexpensive and a great way to get out into the surrounding countryside or perhaps take a trip to the nearby beaches. Hoi An is also renowned for its many craft and tailors' shops. You may wish to take an excursion to Quang Ngai, the site of the My Lai Massacre Memorial. The massacre was a significant turning point in the Vietnam War and the horrific story is told through a photo presentation - an emotional experience.

Overnight: Hoi An Historic Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast

10Visit My Son

A further day is spent in this lovely historic town. This morning we take an excursion to the holiest and most evocative of Vietnam's Cham sites, My Son. The Chams were dynastic lords who rejected the authority of China in 2AD and established their own kingdom. Although they benefited from strong sea links with the rest of Southeast Asia the kingdom's interior could not supply sufficient food for a strong military force. For 1000 years they managed to stave off attacks by the Vietnamese and Chinese, before being overcome by the Vietnamese in the 15th century. Travelling along the track that leads to the site is slow and bumpy and through wooded hills, but the site is certainly impressive with several groupings of Cham temples to be visited. Nowhere are the fine masonry skills of the Chams more evident than at My Son, despite the fact that much of the site was bombed in the 1960s. The afternoon is free to enjoy Hoi An further.

Overnight: Hoi An Historic Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast

11Fly to Ho Chi Minh and travel to the Mekong Delta

After a short drive to Danang Airport you fly to Ho Chi Minh City, from here your journey continues south to Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta. Surrounded by lush and fertile land the area is home to small villages and swaying coconut palms. Taking a local ferry to a nearby village, you’ll explore by cycle rickshaw. Later you’ll board sampans, small Chinese wooden boats, and cruise along the narrow canals that shoot off the main vein of the Mekong River. After lunch at a local house you have some free time to explore the area further. Finally you return to Ben Tre by boat where you spend the night in a local homestay

Overnight: Homestay
Included Meals: Breakfast

12Mekong Delta to Ho Chi Minh

Spend the morning exploring the Nuoc Trong canal in the Mekong Delta, meeting some industrious locals, there may be time to see coconut processing and trading. You also have the option to walk or cycle along the canal to explore further. Later on you’ll drive back to Ho Chi Minh City

13Ho Chi Minh City tour

Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh is the largest city in Vietnam following its growth in the 1960s and 70s under the American occupation. In more recent times it was the seat of the South Vietnam government until the events that led to the country's reunification. This morning you have a guided tour of the city. Sights include a visit to the Reunification Palace, where the first communist tanks arrived into Ho Chi Minh City in April 1975. You will also visit the War Remnants Museum which provides an interesting though extremely emotive documentary of the Vietnam War and its atrocious war crimes. You'll also visit the Notre Dame Cathedral and take in some of the lovely French colonial architecture of the city. The afternoon has been left free.

14Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels

Travel out of the city to the Cu Chi Tunnels. During the war this network of over 250 km of tunnels stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border, and included living and storage areas, first aid centres and command centres. The hidden tunnels allowed the Viet Cong to launch surprise attacks on American troops and disappear unnoticed through the disguised trapdoors. You will have the opportunity to explore the tunnels and learn more of this amazing underground base, before returning to the city. The afternoon has been left free for you to do some last minute Souvenir shopping.